I should preface this by saying that I do not like hiking in the snow. Well, that being said, with the proper gear, it doesn't have to be too unpleasing.

The original plan for this one was an out and back to Devils Rest. My hiking partner for the day didn't have a whole lot of time, so that's what we had agreed to. It would've taken three hours off of our day had we actually been able to do the out and back. That is, if we knew when we were "out" in order to go "back." The signage around Devils Rest is non-existent. The Falcon's guide says that Devils Rest is a good place to rest, but doesn't offer much of a view, since it's tree-covered. With the snow around too... well, I think we missed it.

Angels Rest also does not have any signage, but it is obvious that this vista point was special. We started out the hike at 8:30 a.m. with no one in the trailhead parking lot and not a single set of prints on the fresh snow. When we returned, the snow had turned to slush and mud with all the shoe prints - it is definitely a popular spot.

Higher up, though, we did not run into any other hikers, or any other prints. We did this trail in the opposite direction than the Falcon's guide, preferably to knock off some mileage, but then, since we didn't find Devils Rest, that was not the case. We started out on Angels Rest Trail to Foxglove Way to Wahkeena Trail for a brief time, then proceeded back to Angels Rest Trail where we saw Wahkeena Springs (I missed the springs the day before - the springs are actually just off of Wahkeena Trail on the Angels Rest Trail).

A word about the weather... Did I mention that I don't like snow hikes? At the higher elevations, we were hiking through 6-8 inches of snow with a snow/ice combination blowing horizontally directly at our faces. Not fun. When we had the snow at our backs, though, it wasn't all bad.

And I was actually glad that we couldn't find Devils Rest. It gave me more elevation on the trip, and I have a reason to go back.

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